Darth Raven
by MyLadyRaven
Summary: A tale about the Rule of Two as another master-apprentice cycle begins: My life story translated into the Star Wars Universe. All original characters.
1. Chapter 1

Darth Raven

Chapter 1

The meditation chamber allowed no light to enter its interior; no sounds could penetrate its circular walls. The round room sitting high in the Tranquility Spire, with perfectly smooth walls and floor, had absolutely nothing in it except darkness and silence – the companions of meditation. There was nothing here at all to catch one's attention or occupy one's mind. The only thing left to do in this empty world, closed in on itself, was to sink into your own mind and search it to its deepest core.

Alyse So was not troubled by the oppressive stillness. In fact, she was not aware of it. Motionless, she sat in a meditative trance in the middle of the room, dreaming.

In her dream she could hear great waves of water smashing against unmovable rock; she could feel the salty spray land on her ruffled feathers as she fought the gusty wind. A sudden burst tipped her off balance and she let out a screech, flapping her wings frantically to…

The next moment she was pressing herself to the ground, crawling slowly toward her unsuspecting prey with the elegant grace of a predator. As she got closer, she gathered her hind and middle legs beneath her, preparing for the final jump which…

The next moment he was wandering through Slum Street, collecting empty grog bottles and any trash that could be worth half a credit while drunkenly singing a woeful tune. He stumbled along with a limp, carrying his loot in an overflowing bag slung over his shoulder. The singing abruptly stopped, and a wide smile bloomed on his face. He picked up a bottle which still had some contents in it, and happily…

The next moment she quivered under the warm rays of a white dwarf star. Her stem rocked back and forth like a dancer; her roots probed the unfriendly soil, searching tirelessly for moisture that would sustain her for another day…

An invasive Presence in the Force ripped her out of trance. Her eyes snapped open and once again she was aware of the darkness, the silence, and of her own identity. She could sense a Force-user approaching on the other side of the wall. This could only mean that the sun has risen, the night of meditation has ended, and the day has come to receive her Knighthood. The chamber doors slid open. Her human eyes were blinded by the light after staring into pitch blackness, but she knew the intruder's presence in the Force – the High Consular of the Jedi Temple. "It's time, Padawan," said the elderly Ithorian in a gentle voice. "They are waiting for you."

Her pulse quickened as they approached the doors to the Hall of Knighthood. She retained perfect composure during the Trial of Spirit, yet now it almost failed her. The High Consular smiled. "Go forth, Padawan." With a push of the Force he opened the doors and the golden light of the morning sun flooded through the opening. Inside, some of the most revered Jedi of the Order were seated: the five Masters of the Council of First Knowledge, the Battlemaster, the Chief Librarian, Jedi Master Hanna, and the Grand Master himself. All their gazes, friendly but stern, were fixed on her. Master Hanna made eye contact with Alyse and gave her an encouraging smile. Protocol prohibited her smiling back, but the Padawan reached out through the Force to the Jedi Master with a sense of gratitude.

"Padawan Alyse So," the Grand Master's voice rolled across the Hall as he rose from his chair. The young apprentice approached him and knelt reverently a few feet away. "You have successfully passed each of the five Trials which tested your Skill, Courage, Flesh, Spirit, and Insight, proving that you may be ready to receive knighthood. Battlemaster, know you any reasons why Padawan So may by unworthy of knighthood?"

The Twi'lek Battlemaster shook his head. "So's lightsaber technique and form are flawless. She has precision, exquisite control of the blade, and light-footed agility. She passed each of my exams with a perfect score and I can confidently say she has mastered every skill I taught her."

The Grand Master nodded. "Master Hanna, know you any reasons why So, your Padawan of five years, may be unworthy of knighthood?"

The middle-aged woman rose from her seat and folded her hands in front of her. The brown overtunic of her Jedi Robes matched the color of her hair and her eyes, which gazed fondly upon her young apprentice with warmth and gentleness. "She is as worthy as any Padawan who came before her, Grand Master. Alyse is the most talented pupil I ever enjoyed mentoring on the path to Knighthood and a deeper understanding of the Force. She embodies the best qualities a Jedi can possess: honesty, integrity, humility, loyalty, and selflessness. Every challenge she encounters she takes in stride and commits her entire being to overcome. For her, no task is too daunting and no problem is unsolvable. She was a role-model for her fellow students and an inspiration for me. I expect her to do many great things for the Republic and the Galaxy." Everybody in the hall applauded as Hanna reassumed her seat. Alyse didn't dare lift her face, but she felt a reassuring nudge in the Force and she knew it was her Master encouraging her.

"Padawan So," spoke the Grand Master, and silence instantly returned to the hall. "In the name of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, I raise you to Knighthood. May you guard the safety of the Republic, stand against the Dark Side, carry the legacy of the Jedi Order, and may the Force be with you." The Grand Master unclipped his lightsaber and approached the newly anointed Knight. The violet blade sprung to life and with a swift motion seared off the tie which secured Alyse's dirty-blonde waist-length hair in a Padawan's braid.

And with that the formalities of the event were over and a murmur of conversation rose in place of the ceremonial silence. Hanna rushed over toward Alyse and captured her in a bear hug. "I'm so proud of you, kiddo." Alyse felt her eyes stinging, as if tears were about to form there, but her Jedi mental discipline saved her from crying in front of the whole council. "Thank you, Master Hanna," she murmured.

Their embrace was interrupted by the approach of the Grand Master, a tall Iktotchi who carried himself with the dignity and grandeur of authority, but who now wore a kind smile. "Congratulations on your accomplishments, Jedi Knight So. The Academy acknowledges your outstanding performance. Any idea of what your next plans will be?"

Alyse smiled bashfully, though there was a glimmer of pride in her eyes. "Thank you, Grand Master. I would like to continue my education and pursue the rank of a Master." He nodded approvingly. "A worthy goal, Knight. Hark, I think the Battlemaster wants to speak with you." Alyse turned around and indeed, there was the Battlemaster. He shook her hand and beckoned her away from the gathering, leaving Hanna and the Grand Master tete-a-tete.

"She is a very promising Jedi Knight," remarked the Grand Master. "Her examination scores are incredibly high. But now that she graduated from the Academy, we have to decide which mission to assign her to, and I wanted to consult you, her Master, before making a decision."

The smile faded from Hanna's face and her features hardened. "Please don't assign her to a combat mission, Grand Master."

He raised a hairless eyebrow. "Why is that? The Battlemaster spoke very highly of her skill."

"It's true, Alyse is very accomplished with the lightsaber, as with everything else. She's very smart, and strong with the Force, too… much stronger than me… But she doesn't have a breath of fighting spirit in her. Yes, she dutifully learned all our drills, as she does with everything, but she has no assertiveness in battle. She holds back and I am afraid it will get her killed in her very first battle."

The Grand Master furled his brow in a look of deep contemplation. "A pacifist she is? Perhaps, then, her talents should be directed into diplomacy and negotiations?"

"That's what I thought too, at first." Hanna let out an exasperated sigh. "But she's just as reluctant to socialize as she is to ignite her blade. She treats interaction with her peers like an assignment she must execute, and a challenging one at that. She would, of course, perform her duty to the top of her remarkable abilities, but she would loathe the task."

The Grand Master made no reply, lost in thought. "She would make a great researcher," continued Hanna after a moment of silence. "It would put her best qualities, her intelligence, diligence, persistence, and mastery of the Force, to good use, and I think she would be happy. Assign her to a research laboratory, Grand Master."

The Grand Master looked intently at Hanna, then nodded and called out for Alyse So. She politely excused herself from the conversation she was having and walked toward the Grand Master. "Jedi Knight So," he said, "We have decided that your mission will take place in the Commenor system's MidiTEC research facility as a Class A research assistant."

The young Jedi's eyes widened. "Isn't that the newest, most advanced midi-chlorian research lab in the Republic?"

"The exact one, and just recently they filed a request for new talent."

"I… don't know how to thank you, Grand Master."

"There is no need to thank me. Your accomplishments granted you this position, not I. I hope to see you soon in the High Council Chamber as a candidate for the rank of a Master. May the Force be with you." He shook the new Jedi's hand and took his leave. Meanwhile Hanna turned toward her former Padawan and ran her fingers through the girl's loose blonde hair. "The braid is finally gone. You look beautiful with your hair down, Alyse."

"Thank you, Master Hanna," was all Alyse managed to say.

"You have such an amazing journey ahead of you, I know it. You will excel at the research lab, and you will achieve the rank of a Master in no time, and you will train many talented Padawans…" Her voice trailed off, and suddenly Hanna hugged the girl again.

"Stay safe, kiddo," she whispered. "And stay clear of the Dark Side… but who am I telling that, you of all people I need not worry about." She pulled back. "You leave for Commenor tomorrow."

Had she not had the Jedi mental discipline training, Alyse would surely have burst into tears. "We'll see each other again before I leave, though, right?"

"Of course. I'll be the last person to leave the landing platform tomorrow. Now go, you need to get ready. Go."

Alyse smiled sadly and hesitantly turned toward the exit.

"May the Force be with you, kiddo."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading the first chapter of "Darth Raven". All characters and events are based directly off my real life, adapted as closely as possible to the Star Wars universe. The purpose of this fanfic is to express the things I feel but don't know how to voice otherwise.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Three standard weeks passed since a Republic shuttle brought Alyse So to the MidiTEC Lab, located on a large Satellite orbiting Commenor. She was greeted with enthusiasm by the four Jedi staffing the research facility: Director Master Valders, Vice-Director Akiama, researcher Guptha, and Head of Security Master Jun, though with the exception of Master Jun, all three requested to be called by their given names: Patros, Iren, and Madhu. The three scientists were persons of advanced age, with numerous honorifics and years of experience behind their backs. Jun looked to be in her thirties – a tall, strongly built woman with a firm-set jaw and hard eyes who specialized in lightsaber combat. Alyse So included, there were only five Jedi operating the research facility, while the rest of the personnel, numbering about a dozen, were non-Force users.

The team made sure that Alyse felt instantly at home aboard the Satellite, and her first day on the job began with team-building activities meant to further unify the group. Afterwards, Iren helped the young Jedi get situated in her new home. "We are so glad to have you," she told Alyse while showing her around the living quarters. "It's only been the three of us and Jun for many years, but we've recently expanded our operations and we're desperately short-handed. Finally the Council heard our pleas and sent us some help that meets our qualifications." She handed Alyse a keycard. "This has all your permissions already loaded. Use it to unlock any doors and equipment you have access rights to. And here is your apartment door! Don't worry about cleaning, utility droids will take care of that. Research should be your only priority. Make sure to be at the conference room strictly at six tomorrow morning. I can't wait to start working together, Alyse. We will accomplish so much, I know it!"

Work was hard at the laboratory, but it was nothing Alyse wasn't prepared for, and her colleagues made sure to cultivate team spirit. Every workday began with a team meeting to discuss progress and set future objectives, and at noon the Jedi ate lunch together. Occasionally, the Director would assign Continuous Improvement Training for leadership and ethics, consisting of holovids followed by a group discussion. The director also required the completion of a weekly Fitness Plan at the facility's top-tier gymnasium. Between all the work and activities, there was no time left for idleness. The team had only one day off a week, and even then the Jedi didn't waste time indolently. The Director understood the vital importance of being culturally educated, so once a week the Jedi made the trip down to the planet and visited museums, exhibitions, plays, galleries, operas, and other such events which were plentiful on Commenor. As the Director said, "A mind which doesn't understand art understands nothing at all."

Today they were seeing a ballet at the Commenor Grand Theatre. As usual, the Jedi spared no credits to reserve a personal loggia box in the best section of the Theatre. Alyse sank down in a soft velvet chair next to Iren, and Jun took the edge seat. Behind them, in the back of the box stood four men armed with heavy blasters – Jun's security squad which accompanied them on every trip to Commenor. Alyse learned to stop noticing them. "They're performing a modernist piece today," Iren whispered to the young Jedi. "I just hope it's not too forced. Modernist composers try too hard to be original these days, to no effect. At least Zareena is performing the title role, so it won't be wholly unenjoyable."

The ballet was, indeed, unusual. The large circular stage revolved in the center, while several smaller platforms floated around it to the flow of the mysterious, hypnotizing music. The performers were lowered onto the platforms by thin cables from above. The whole audience applauded when the star of the show appeared, gracefully suspended in midair – the red-skinned Twi'lek ballerina Zareena. Her body seemed to defy the limitations of humanoid physique, but even more captivating was the expressiveness of her movements, whether she stood motionless, or leaped across the stage, or contorted herself as if tortured by real agony. The beauty of it was breathtaking.

Halfway through the production, one of the security commandos approached Jun and whispered something in her ear. The Jedi Master abruptly stood up and hastily left the loggia with two of the troopers. Alyse followed her with her gaze and then turned to Iren. "Why did Master Jun leave?"

"She must have some business to attend to," Iren replied unconcernedly, without looking away from the performance. "It's nothing you should worry about, Alyse. Jun is sure to rejoin us later. Watch Zareena execute the fouetté!"

Jun and her two commandos walked hurriedly through the busy streets of the Commenor capital. The wealthy pedestrians roaming the walkways instinctively moved out of their way, sensing the danger emanating from this group, even though they concealed their weapons and wore civilian garb.

"Are you sure the report is credible?" Jun asked the trooper on her right.

"The witness described it in accurate detail, Commander."

"Where is he now?"

"Commercial sector, Commander. The police are tracking him."

Jun nodded without reply and hastened her pace.

The Commercial sector bustled with people shopping for pricey goods, most of which will be thrown out without ever being used. The object of their surveillance was leisurely walking through the shopping center. Was he looking for some specific goods? Or waiting to meet somebody in this crowd? Jun reached out with the Force and probed him. She sensed no Force power in him, but that only made her more worried. Could he be strong enough to hide his Force presence from her? "Stay back," she told her companions, and slowly advanced toward the suspect from behind, a stun baton in her right hand and her left on the hilt of her lightsaber. She paid close attention to her shadows and any reflections which could give her away and, most importantly, she cloaked her presence in the Force. The suspect noticed nothing and a moment later she struck him in the neck with the stun baton.

"You are arrested. Resistance will result in immediate termination!" She jerked up the stunned man by the back of his collar. Her troopers immediately joined her and cuffed the suspect. He hung limply in the troopers' arms, trying to form words with a tongue that refused to obey him. A single glance at him proved to Jun that he was both unarmed and painfully obviously not Force sensitive. The police approached with the witness hobbling close behind them. Jun turned to face them.

"Is this the right one?!" She yelled at the female Dug witness. "Is this the man you saw possessing a lightsaber?!"

The Dug, unfazed, scratched her chin. "I think so," she pondered. "It is probably him… In fact, I do believe it is him… most likely. But I have so much difficulty telling apart members of your species…"

Jun gritted her teeth in poorly contained irritation, and a second later she walked off.

After the ballet was over, the four Jedi made their way to the Ambassadorial, a private restaurant frequented by Commenor government officials and special guests. Their hostess led them to a table with a fourth-story view of the dazzling Capital.

"What did you think of the ballet, Alyse?" Patros asked, while looking over the menu.

"I thought it was phenomenal," she answered earnestly.

"Really?" Iren raised an eyebrow. "Zareena was rather careless with her technique today, to my surprise. And her Falleen partner seemed to disregard it all together."

"But the story was so touching!" Alyse countered. "And the dancers expressed so much emotion. Isn't that more important?"

"I would sooner describe the story as… primitive – another failed take on the "lost love" cliché. To make matters worse, the final scene was perfectly horrid."

During the final scene Zareena and the Falleen, the two tragic lovers, reunited once again on the central stage, yet they walked past one another without recognizing each other. Alyse loved that moment and said as much, "I think it was a beautiful scene."

The Jedi scientists exchanged sympathetic glances. "I am afraid you lack education on the subject, Alyse," Iren kindly said. "You simply have yet to see actually good ballet."

At that moment Jun suddenly walked into the restaurant and took a seat at their table. "False alarm," she shortly stated in response to the questioning gazes of the Jedi. "Dim-witted aliens," she added under her breath.

* * *

It was bedtime back at the Satellite, but Alyse was reluctant to withdraw to the comfort of her familiar bedroom. Instead, she lingered on the viewing platform behind the huge transparisteel window, looking out upon the planet. The Commenor system's star was already hiding behind the planet's horizon, but it still lit up the top of the globe. Large masses of clouds spiraled around the planet and glowed brilliantly in the light of the setting sun. Where the planet was already veiled in darkness, the artificial lights of the cities formed peculiar, intricately woven glowing webs. A number of commercial and personal starships orbited within the planet's geospace. For a moment an enormous tradeship briefly eclipsed the dwindling star. Commenor stood at the intersection of numerous hyperspace routes, attracting many merchants. Alyse touched the cold transparisteel. Then with a sigh she turned away from the view, preparing the leave.

Suddenly, all the lights inside simultaneously went out, shrouding the chamber in the eerie glow coming through the window. Complete silence fell across the starship, startling Alyse with the realization of how many sounds constantly surrounded her which she was not aware of until they disappeared. She held her breath amidst the silence and darkness.

Then the dim emergency lights blinked on and an alarm siren began to wail.

The whole facility went into emergency lockdown. Inside the sealed docking bay, a six deadly droidekas rolled out onto the floor, popped up on their three legs and pointed their cannons at the hatch. Their shimmering blue energy shields sprung to life with a hum. There was a hiss, and suddenly the wall of the hatch was punctured by a glowing object. Slowly it started cutting through the durasteel in an arc. Soon it completed an uneven circle, and the sheet of durasteel went flying, forced out by a powerful kick. The droids immediately opened fire on the two humanoid shapes which jumped out of the opening, but none of the bolts hit target – they were all deflected by two blood-red lightsabers.

Two more attackers emerged from the assaulting starship, drawing some of the droideka firing power away from their struggling comrades. Meanwhile, two electromagnetic pulse grenades rolled out from behind the safety of the durasteel walls and detonated among the destroyer droids. Two of the droidekas collapsed into motionless heaps, but the other four regrouped themselves and adjusted their line of fire. However, now the droidekas were outnumbered six to four.

Two of the invaders started circling the droidekas, forcing them to rotate their frames. At that moment one of the attackers gave a powerful Force push, barely parrying a blaster bolt in time, but successfully knocking one of the destroyers off balance. A Twi'lek attacker dive rolled toward the fallen, but still firing droid, and plunged his lightsaber into its weakest point. Now each of the three droidekas only had one cannon available per attacker, and their defeat was a matter of time. Soon all three were reduced to sizzling heaps of rubbish.

"Good thing MidiTEC could only afford six of these things," huffed the Twi'lek. His arm was scorched by a precise bolt.

"The Jedi can afford everything, Breas," a human companion responded, breathing heavily after the fight. "Good thing they didn't expect the likes of _us_ to show up."

"Shut it and move it," a massive Chagrian snarled. "Before their reinforcements arrive!"

Inside the central control room, the three Jedi scientists and four troopers huddled around the surveillance monitor with their eyes glued to the screen. "They destroyed the droidekas!" shrieked Iren.

"We must evacuate!" yelled Patros.

"Where's Jun?!" exclaimed Madhu.

"Jun can take care of herself!" hissed Iren.

"And where's Alyse?!"

"Probably with Jun, now hurry, we have to get out!"

The Jedi and the commandos quietly crept through the corridors when suddenly, as they rounded a corner, they found themselves face to face with the Twi'lek and the human Sith. The commando squad reacted instantaneously and opened fire on the raiders, which they parried with their lightsabers. Both parties retreated behind their respective corners. Had the commandos and the Jedi joined forces and advanced, they would have broken through, but the moment was lost. Two more Sith, a Nelvaanian and a Mirialan, rushed to assist their comrades. Two grenades flew out from behind the corner, an electromagnetic pulse grenade and a smoke bomb, and it was over for the commandos. Blindfolded by the smoke, their helmet HUD screens disabled by the EMP, they were easy targets. Force-users, however, did not need their eyes to see. Three blades sprang to life in the dense smoke: two blues and a green. They tried to put up a fight, but the three scientists had no chances against trained killers.

"Three down, but the security head isn't one of them," remarked the Nelvaanian, examining the bodies as the smoke dispersed.

"That means we gotta keep our guard up," the Twi'lek commented. "Hey Yonni, how are you doing back there?" He looked behind the corner where they were previously hiding. "Yonni…"

The Twi'lek went silent. The Nelvaanian joined him, took a look, and proclaimed, "Dead."

Yonni, a tan human of medium height with black hair pulled back in a knot, lay slumped against the wall with a blaster hole in his chest.

"Poor bastard," said the Twi'lek.

"He used two sabers, but didn't use them fast enough," was the short eulogy the Nelvaanian said over the fallen. "Let's go, we still gotta find the security head."

As soon as Jun witnessed the defeat of the droidekas, she knew it was time to execute her orders of last resort. She initiated a termination sequence which would delete all data from the laboratory computers and grabbed the datachip with the only saved copy. Then she ran out of the lab toward the escape pods, lightsaber in one hand a blaster in the other. Her primary mission on MidiTEC was not to save the scientists, but to save their data.

She reached the escape pods and thought she was in the clear, but suddenly she was aware of somebody's presence in the chamber. A sunset-orange blade sprung to life and lit up the dark chamber. Jun fired a full round at the enemy, but he parried the bolts and deftly deflected one back at her. She barely blocked it with her own cyan lightsaber in time. She then tossed her blaster away and charged the enemy.

Jun was a Jedi Master specializing in lightsaber combat. She did not expect her opponent to withstand her charge, yet he did not yield, but rather overtook the offensive. With a controlled steadiness he forced her to retreat, and panic started rising in her mind. Her movements became increasingly reckless and aggressive, until finally she overextended a strike and met her end by the cold-blooded hand of her opponent. He reached into the pocket of his dead foe and fished out the datachip. Then he snapped it in half and walked away.

Alyse ran through the corridors. When the whole facility went dark and the sound of exploding grenades faintly echoed through the chambers, she knew they had been boarded by attackers. She had to find her friends before they did. Yet when she burst into the central chamber of the Satellite, she encountered the group of raiders instead of her team. Why hadn't she felt their presence in the Force? And why were the wielding… lightsabers!

The Sith looked just as surprised as she was. "Who are you, girl?" the fierce Chagrian at their lead asked her. In reply Alyse ignited her emerald-green lightsaber and took a battle stance. "You weren't supposed to be here," the Chagrian continued. He made a gesture for the Sith to stay back. "Not much of a talker, are you? Have it your way, then." He advanced at her alone, armed with a red lightsaber with a curved hilt.

She fearlessly met his attack. The Force guided her hand and warned her where the next attack would come from. They exchanged a few blows and drew back. Alyse was winded but the Chagrian remained unruffled. He smirked at her almost approvingly and advanced again. She did not yield to his attack and held her ground. He would have gladly continued probing her defenses, but time was running out. With brute strength he pushed her blade down and grabbed the back of her lightsaber hilt. Startled and bewildered, Alyse held onto her weapon. Then the Chagrian brought his lightsaber down onto her wrist and severed her right hand. Now in possession of both lightsabers, he held them at her neck in a scissors hold, but this was wholly unnecessary. Alyse went into shock and had no intention of fighting on.

"There's still hope for you," said the Chagrian. "You're coming with us."

The Sith starship sped away from the Commenor system. Behind them the ravaged Satellite exploded in a blinding flash which awoke the sleeping citizens of Commenor and carried away the secrets of MidiTEC into eternity.

* * *

 **Introducing the Order of Sith Knights, directly based off the lightsaber group I am a part of!**

 **The severing of the right hand is also based off a real life event. I was training with Kryos (the Chagrian) and I accidentally rammed my wrist into a sharp part of his lightsaber pommel. I had to go to ER to get staples. It hurt for almost a year and I have a lightsaber battle scar now. That saber is now named "Raven's Bane", because it drew my blood and Kryos looks a lot like Darth Bane.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After the Sith starship jumped into hyperspace, Alyse was treated by the on-board medical droid which patched up her mutilated wrist. A powerful anesthetic left her whole right arm numb, but phantom pain would surely kick in when in wore off. She tried to watch the droid perform its work, but the sight of her own skin and tissue being stretched and sewn was too unsettling and she turned away. When the droid completed the surgery, a green light blinked on its dome and with an affirmative beep it rolled into a corner and powered off, leaving Alyse alone in the silent medbay. Nothing stirred as time went on.

She wondered why the Sith kept her alive. They must have deemed her weaker than the other Jedi from MidiTEC they killed – more susceptible to the temptations of the Dark Side, less secure in the Path of the Jedi, more fearful of death… and pain. This treatment they gave her after cutting of her hand was just a prelude to soften her up before what is to come.

The sound of the unsealing medbay door broke the silence. Alyse heard footsteps behind her. "Have you come to question me?" she asked in the coldest, most indifferent voice she could muster.

"I have not," a deep voice replied. She turned to look at the man – tall, she noted, having to lift her face just to look him in the eye, with fair skin and black hair. He dragged up a chair and sat across from her. "How are you doing?"

"Are you here to gloat over my defeat?" she voiced her next assumption.

"No."

"Did you come to kill me?" She wasn't sure why they captured her alive, but maybe they changed their mind on the subject.

"Nope," he answered. Alyse was running out of ideas.

"Did you…" she hesitated for a heartbeat, "Come to take advantage of me?"

"No!" He sounded offended.

"Then what do you want from me?!" She exclaimed loudly, her composure lost.

"I already said, I came to see how you're doing!"

Alyse was not expecting that answer. She stared warily at the man.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your hand. Kryos overdid it, but he just wanted to play it safe. I would have knocked you out, or killed you if that failed. But it's gonna be alright, we'll get you very good prosthetics. Most people forget they even have them."

Alyse listened with bewilderment to his words, trying to discern the meaning behind them. Did he just imply… comradeship between them? Did he truly assume the possibility of that ever happening? She listened to his poisoned promises with a stoic expression and solemnly proclaimed when he finished, "I'll have it known that no amount of suffering or torture will turn me to the Dark Side."

He laughed, to her dismay. "Is that what the Jedi told you we'd do?"

She didn't reply.

"Now tell me, if I wanted you to be my ally in the ways of the Dark Side, why would I want to torture you? Seems rather counterproductive to me."

"You belong to the Dark Side," she answered, determined not to be mislead by his treacherous logic. "You draw power from hate, anger, and pain, and you use it to further your evil goals. You think that if a creature suffers enough, its spirit will break and it will give in to hate, embracing the Darkness. But I belong to the Light Side and you will never break me."

He nodded in pretended approval. "Good words, girl. You must have had a good grade in Jedi Ethics Class. Oh wait, _every class_ in the Academy is Jedi Ethics Class. But I want to ask you something: what color is the Force?"

The determination on her face melted into befuddlement. "Wha… what _color_?"

"You're using shades to describe the Force, so surely it must have a color."

The smugness on his face confirmed beyond a doubt that he was mocking her. "You know perfectly well that Darkness refers to the evil, and Light refers to good."

"Oh yeah?" A dangerous note of anger crept into his voice. "So much good you Jedi have done for the Galaxy, doing the dirty work of the Senate in the name of the greater good. How many peasant uprisings have you smothered? How many times did you side with the rich man so the Senate has a fatter purse? How many planets have you forced into the Republic to feed its hungry economic machine? In the name of the greater good, of course!"

She was startled by the agitation in his voice. It didn't sound feigned – it sounded honest. "Peace has its price," she countered.

"What a good little Jedi girl you are! Reciting all your Jedi lessons! The knight in shining armor protecting the Galaxy! But you know who you really are?! The executioner's axe in the hands of the Supreme Chancellor!"

She tried to interject, but he wouldn't let her.

"You are the Senate's lethal weapon," he continued. "But the axe isn't supposed to have a will of its own, lest it turn on its wielder. So what do you do when you want a deadly but obedient weapon!? You take newborns and brainwash them since infancy!"

Alyse stared at him with growing astonishment. She had never encountered such heated passion before, and its raw intensity frightened her.

"And all that crap about the Light Side and the Dark Side?" He abruptly stood up. "The Force is the energy that penetrates the universe and connects all living things. It doesn't have sides, it just _is_! And do you know how to use it? Of course you don't, that's what they're most afraid of. In order to bend the Force to your will you have to want it. You have to feel, and that's something they can't allow. The strength we find in hate and love will be the end of them and they know it, so they invented the 'principle of nonattachment'. Hah, but here's the catch!" He laughed. "There's only a limited number of Force-sensitive babies they can collect for their army of obedient little Jedi. They would breed you if they could, but it's our luck that midi-chlorians don't reproduce in glass vials!"

Alyse gasped. "What are you saying? We would never breed living creatures as soldiers! How can you think that?!"

"Yeah?" he asked quietly and leaned over her. She instinctively shrunk back, despite all her Jedi training. "What do _you_ think your precious MidiTEC was for?"

And with those words he left her, pausing briefly at the door. "Fucking sheep, bred for slaughter."

Images of MidiTEC flashed before her eyes. The faces of Patros, Iren, Madhu, and Jun clearly materialized in her mind. She suddenly recalled strange things she hadn't paid attention to before, like the suspicious gazes Jun always threw at her and the locked doors she had no permission to open. She remembered that Iren never told her exactly what the goal of their research was. Even more startling was the realization that she never thought to ask.

Alyse burrowed her face in her only hand. "There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity," she whispered, but the words of the mantra offered no reassurance. She knew she mustn't heed the lies of the deceitful Sith – she mustn't even think of them, but they were burned into her mind.

She knew now why the Sith destroyed MidiTEC.

How much time passed since the human Sith left her here? An hour? More? It just as easily could have been less, but an uncertain amount of time later she heard the door open again. She recognized the Force presence immediately and winced.

"What are you still doing here?" asked the Chagrian who cut off her hand. "The door is not locked, you know."

Alyse replied with one of her silent icy stares. Kryos didn't seem to care.

"By the way, here's your lightsaber." He tossed it to her across the room. Alyse caught it with her left hand and gripped it tight. She felt a surge of reassurance and confidence as soon as she touched her bonded weapon – a sleek silver cylinder with light vents on top and two black rings on the grip and pommel. Feather was its name, for it was small and light. But… there was something off about it…

"I fixed it for you," Kryos explained.

Alyse powered it on and her heart dropped. The beautiful emerald blade, green like the spring grass, like mint candy, like a kitten's eyes, was gone. In its stead, a red violent blade burned like hellfire.

"I swapped out the crystal," he continued almost proudly. "You can have it as a present."

"I don't want it! Give me back my old one!" she yelled.

"Calm down already. You'll appreciate it later. What you have in there now is a top grade synthetic crystal. They're much better than those defective natural ones Jedi use."

"Liar! Only natural crystals are attuned to the Force!"

"You obviously know nothing about kyber crystals, so let me explain some things to you. A lightsaber is just a power supply and a focusing crystal. All its destructive energy is at a frequency we can't see, and all the visible light it spews out is actually just losses. An ideal lightsaber blade is invisible, but as of yet nobody has been able to create it. Simply put, the higher the frequency of the light, the more power is wasted, which makes red the best and violet the worst. Oh, I wouldn't recommend doing that."

Alyse rose from the chair she was sitting in. The Sith recognized her intentions even before she was fully aware of them herself. The lightsaber, still ignited, was in her hand.

"How about you don't try to kill me right now? You won't succeed anyways, but I won't spare your life again. Instead of heroically dying for you ideals, how about you stay alive today and maybe you'll have a chance to kill me later?"

She hesitated for a minute, lasting much longer than a minute ought to, yet finally she power off the saber and clipped it to her belt. The weapon felt defiled and dirty, but it was the best she had right now.

"There you go. Now how about you get some sleep with the rest of us? You'll have your own sleeping cell, don't worry."

Confused and exhausted, she had no will to argue. She fell onto the cot and lost herself in dreamless sleep.


End file.
